“What we knew back then, and still stands true today, is that distribution of talent is global, financial services are not,” said Prodigy Finance CEO Cameron Stevens in the introduction to the report.

With a mission to help international students access top-quality programs, the company assesses candidates on projected earnings, rather than historical credit, and allows them to obtain a loan without a co-signer or guarantor.

“Distribution of talent is global, financial services are not”

It partners with selected universities, chosen from the Financial Times’ Global MBA Rankings, and the top-100 of the U.S. News & World Report.

Figures on the report show that around two thirds of the more than 9,900 students supported by Prodigy Finance were the first in their families to attend graduate school.

Four out of five came from emerging markets and about 60% returned to their home country to work after graduation. Virtually every single student Prodigy Finance supported graduated from their postgraduate degree – the rate is at 99.7%.

To date, the company has never written off a loan, a spokesperson of Prodigy Finance told The PIE.

“Prodigy Finance makes every attempt possible to work with the student to repay their loan, for example, our community offering, which includes career services and personal finance help,” they said.

To redress a gender imbalance in the applications – only 29% of the students supported were women – the company is introducing a “Women in Tech” scholarship, with the hope that more women will apply.

As for the future, the company thinks their approach to credit could be transferred to international professionals, who may face the same barriers to accessing financial services as international students. However, at this stage they are not planning to include undergraduate students in their services.

Last year, Prodigy Finance raised $240m to focus on growth in the US market.